All the Aldens loved having the Nettleton twins as houseguests. But for Jessie, their visit was extra special. She was sharing her room with Tipper. Each night, after they turned out the lights, the two of them would talk in the dark until they drifted off to sleep. Jessie loved these cozy times.
“I feel so much better after running the clinic today,” Tipper said. “I finally got to be the kind of coach my coaches have been to me. They taught me so much. Now it’s my turn to teach kids what I know about basketball.”
“I learned a lot from you and Courtney today,” Jessie said. She stretched and yawned before curling up under the covers. “I’m tired, but it’s a good kind of tired. That chair drill you did with us was fun. Sitting in a chair and trying to make baskets taught me how to stretch my arm way out and follow through.”
“Follow through,” Tipper said. “That’s the key to everything — passing, shooting, dribbling.”
Jessie’s voice slowed down. “The key. I’m glad Mr. Fowler gave you that extra key for the gym today. Do you think Courtney ever gave you one in the first place?”
Tipper thought about this. “I honestly can’t remember. I’m not going to bring it up with her again. All I want is for the two of us to work together. If only she would forget that we used to play on opposing teams.”
“Courtney did seem a little jealous, seeing you with your trophy and all,” Jessie said.
Tipper was practically asleep now. “That trophy. I can’t wait until it’s in a glass case at the sports center.”
The room was almost silent now, except for Watch’s gentle snoring.
Then Tipper sat up in bed. “Omigosh!” she said all of a sudden. “The trophy! I forgot all about it. Now, where did I put it after the TV people left?”
Jessie turned on the bedside lamp. The girls blinked at the sudden light. Tipper and Jessie stared at the bookcase.
“I forgot to put it back,” Tipper said, fully awake now. She checked under both beds, then in the closet. “Let me think. After the interview all the kids were fussing over it. I thought it might bother Courtney and Buzz.”
“I know!” Jessie cried. “You put it in the boxcar right before Courtney and Mr. Fowler started the layup drills. Remember?”
Tipper remembered. In no time, she put on her slippers. “I’m going out to the boxcar to get it now. Otherwise I’ll be up all night thinking about it.”
Jessie stepped into her slippers, too. She grabbed the flashlight she kept by her bed. Watch followed the girls down through the dark house.
The moon was shining. The backyard was all silvery. The girls tiptoed out to the boxcar.
Jessie slid open the door. She waved her flashlight this way and that. “I don’t see it. Maybe somebody put it away for safekeeping,” Jessie told Tipper to make her friend feel better. “I bet that’s what happened.”
“I hope you’re right,” Tipper said.
The girls returned to the house and went back to bed.
But Tipper didn’t drift off to sleep easily. Her trophy seemed to have a curse on it. The curse wouldn’t go away until she gave the trophy away. And she couldn’t do that until she found it.
The next morning Tipper and Jessie stumbled into the kitchen for breakfast. They were pale, and they were both tired.
“My goodness, you girls look as if you haven’t slept a wink,” Mrs. McGregor said.
Mr. Alden looked up from his morning paper. “Maybe you should go back to bed and sleep in a little longer,” he suggested. “Is anything the matter?”
“Tipper’s trophy is missing,” Jessie announced. “She put it in the boxcar yesterday. We went out there last night, but it wasn’t there. It’s not in my room, either. We’re going to look around the house and outside now that it’s daytime.”
“Soo Lee and I will help,” Benny said. “We’re good at finding things. We have sharp eyes.”
Tipper smiled for the first time that morning. “If anyone can find my trophy, I know you Aldens can.”
But the Aldens had no luck, either. Benny and Soo Lee checked under every piece of furniture indoors and every tree and bush outdoors. The older children searched the garage and the back porch. The trophy was nowhere to be found.
“How did it wind up missing?” Henry wondered. “Everybody was around all afternoon yesterday. Unless . . . well, I mean, Frank and Courtney were the last ones in the boxcar. Remember? They were in there watching the training tapes.”
Tipper twisted the corners of her napkin. She seemed about to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out.
“Why don’t we just call them up?” Jessie asked. “It can’t hurt to ask.”
Tipper was lost in thought. “It could hurt to ask, Jessie. If they didn’t take it, they’ll be upset that I suspect them. Buzz and I are just starting to get along with Courtney and Frank. Let’s just wait until Buzz gets back. He had a meeting at the sports center this morning. I’ll ask him if he’s seen it.”
Mr. Alden put down his newspaper. “I wish I’d known the trophy was missing. I drove Buzz to the center, but he didn’t mention it. He should be back in a while. Tom Hooper is going to drop him off.”
Tipper couldn’t touch the food on her plate. “You know what? I’ll just get restless waiting for him. I need to get out of the house. Jessie, why don’t I drive you to that sporting goods store. I know you wanted to exchange those sneakers you bought for a bigger size.”
“Good idea. Violet and I need some crew socks, too.” Jessie ran upstairs to get her new sneakers. When she came back down, everyone was outside, standing by the twins’ car.
“Here, put your shopping bag in the trunk,” Tipper said, lifting the lid. “When all of you Aldens are in the car, there’s not much room for anything else!”
Tipper was about to slam down the trunk lid when Buzz came into the backyard. “Hey, you found my hiding place!” he said. “It’s not easy hiding things from you Aldens.”
Tipper and the children stood in front of the empty trunk.
“What are you talking about, Buzz?” Tipper asked.
“Your MVP trophy,” Buzz answered. “Isn’t that what you’re looking for? I stuck it in there yesterday. Patsy was showing it off to other kids in the boxcar. I got worried it would get scratched or something. Whoa, what’s that look you’re giving me, Tip?”
Tipper swallowed hard. “But why did you put it in the car? When the doors are unlocked anybody can pull the lever from under the front seat and open the trunk.”
“I planned to go back and get it. But . . . well, I forgot. Sorry about that,” Buzz said. He looked at the Aldens. “Hey, were you guys spying on me? Is that how you figured out it was in there?”
No one answered for a long time.
Tipper stepped away from the car. She pointed to the empty trunk. “There’s no trophy in there, Buzz.”
Buzz’s face went white. His smile disappeared from his face. “What do you mean, it’s not there? You’re kidding, right?”
The Aldens moved away from the car, too.
“Take a look, Buzz,” Tipper said. “The trunk is empty.”
Buzz didn’t speak. He went around, opened the doors, and checked inside the car. Then he looked under the car and all around the garage.
“Don’t bother. The Aldens and I already checked every inch of the garage, the boxcar, the whole yard, and the entire house,” Tipper told her brother. “We’ve looked everywhere.”
Buzz stared at his sister. “Please don’t look at me like that, Tip. I was trying to keep your trophy safe. Honest. That’s why I put it in the trunk. It wasn’t the best place, but I was going to bring it up to your room first thing. Then I got so busy, I forgot.”
Tipper couldn’t seem to look Buzz in the eye. She stood there and just stared down at her sneakers. “I guess it’s my fault. I should have put it away myself. And now it’s gone.”
In a minute, Buzz was gone, too. He walked down the driveway and disappeared down the street.
The children followed Tipper inside.
“What happened to your shopping trip?” Mr. Alden asked when everyone came into the kitchen. “Is something wrong?”
“Buzz took Tipper’s trophy yesterday,” Benny said. “But now he doesn’t know where it is.”
“I see,” Mr. Alden said quietly.
Tipper tried to explain to Mr. Alden what had happened. “Buzz told me he saw Patsy showing off the trophy during the clinic yesterday. So he put it in the trunk and forgot to tell me. I mean, it’s the most important thing I own. How could he forget? It’s almost as if he wants it to disappear. And now it has.”
Mr. Alden spoke gently. “Do you think he’s done this on purpose?”
Tipper swallowed hard. “If it was anything else but the trophy, I would say no. We’ve always known everything about each other. That’s the way twins are . . . until now. Ever since I got the award, Buzz has been different, not like his old self.”
“He sure does act touchy about that trophy,” Henry said.
“It’s impossible to talk to him about it,” Tipper agreed. “I don’t want to accuse him, but this is the second time he’s left the trophy in the car when it’s been unlocked.”
“Come sit down and have some breakfast,” Mr. Alden said. “I’m sure we can help you figure this out.”
Soo Lee patted Tipper’s hand. “Benny and I are good finders. We found Violet’s bracelet on the driveway.”
“Once we found an old violin that was missing,” Benny said. “And lots of other stuff people were looking for.”
“What if we put up some Lost and Found posters?” Violet asked Tipper. “I could draw a picture of the trophy. I remember what it looked like.”
This helped Tipper feel better, but only a little. “That’s a good idea. Of course, if Buzz . . . Well, never mind. Besides, Buzz and I can’t let ourselves think about the trophy too much — not with your championship games coming up. I’ll just have to deal with it after the games are over. I’m going upstairs to rest.”
Tipper left the kitchen. The Aldens could barely hear her footsteps. The children were quiet. Winning a big silver trophy sure didn’t seem like much fun anymore. |